Vivekananda

Vivekananda, original name Narendranath Datta, Datta also spelled Dutt (born January 12, 1863, Calcutta [now Kolkata]—died July 4, 1902, near Calcutta) Hindu spiritual leader and reformer in India who attempted to combine Indian spirituality with Western material progress, maintaining that the two supplemented and complemented one another. His Absolute was a person’s own higher self; to labour for the benefit of humanity was the noblest endeavour.

Vivekananda

Courtesy of the Indian High Commission Office, London

Born into an upper-middle-class Kayastha family in Bengal, he was educated at a Western-style university where he was exposed to Western philosophy, Christianity, and science. Social reform was given a prominent place ... (100 of 358 words)